Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Tri-Cities, Washington

People who grew up in the Tri-Cities area were impacted by contamination from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, which was developed as part of the Manhattan Project to create plutonium for nuclear weapons. From 1944 to 1951, radioactive Iodine-131 was released and scattered across eastern Washington, leading to community exposures through consumption of local produce or milk from contaminated animals. Decades after the Iodine-131 exposure, community members who were exposed in the 1940s were concerned about increased risk for thyroid cancer related to the previous exposure. In 2005, ATSDR offered guidance to health care providers on dealing with the psychological and physical health consequences of exposure to radiation. ATSDR emphasized the importance of providers learning the skills of sensitive health risk communication and supportive counseling as well as recognizing the potential for rare but serious psychological consequences of exposure.